1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device which is provided in an electronic still video camera, for example, and which electronically develops an image on a recording medium, and reads the image from the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, silver halide photographic material is generally used as a material for recording an optical image. Silver halide photographic material has high optical sensitivity and high resolution, and the economical efficiency thereof is excellent. However, silver halide photographic material has drawbacks in that not only is the developing process cumbersome but also a visible image cannot be obtained at the same time as photography. A dry-type developing method has been developed to simplify the developing process. However, simultaneous development in which a visible image is obtained upon photography is impossible in the dry-type developing method.
On the other hand, as non-silver-halide photographic materials, there are known electrophotographic materials, ziazotype photographic materials and free-radical photographic materials and so on. In these materials, however, there is no material which has advantageous characteristics like silver, halide photographic material, while being able to simultaneously develop and keep a visible image. Note that, electrophotographic materials have been used mainly in copying machines, since they can perform dry-type development and can simultaneously develop an electrostatic latent image, which is obtained by exposure, using toner.
In such electrophotographic materials, recently, a photographic material has been developed in which a recording material made of the photographic material is electronically and directly developed similarly to a silver halide photographic material, so that the developed visible image can be immediately seen or recorded. Such a recording material in which a visible image is electronically developed is referred to as an electro-developing recording material in this specification.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-2280 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,156, for example, discloses a recording material which is a combination of an electrostatic information recording material and an electric charge keeping medium, the electrostatic information recording material having a photoconducting layer and an inorganic oxide material layer, and the electric charge keeping medium having a liquid crystal display. In this structure, when the electrostatic information recording material is exposed while an electric voltage is applied to the electrostatic information recording material and the electric charge keeping medium, electric charge in accordance with the amount of incident light is generated in the electrostatic information recording material. Since the intensity of electric field applied to the liquid crystal display facing the electrostatic information recording material is varied in accordance with the generated electric charge, an image corresponding to the amount o light distribution is indicated or developed on the liquid crystal display.
The image kept by the electro-developing recording medium may be read out through an optical sensor, and a light source may be provided to illuminate the electro-developing recording medium so that the optical sensor can read the image. In such a construction, however, if the light distribution characteristics of the light source are not uniform along the optical sensor, the image cannot be exactly read out by the optical sensor. Therefore, the image signal, which is generated by the optical sensor in accordance with the image, should be subjected to a correction process, which is complicated, so that the effect of the light distribution characteristics is reduced. Therefore, a time for which the correction process is performed is long.
If the optical sensor is a line sensor, the line sensor is intermittently moved along the electro-developing recording medium, and thus a reading operation, in which a part of the image is read by the line sensor, and a discharging operation, in which residual electric charge is discharged from the line sensor, are alternately carried out. Therefore, it takes a long time to read the image from the electro-developing recording medium.
Further, the device, in which the light source and the optical sensor are provided around the electro-developing recording medium, is bulky, and thus there is a limit in miniturizing the device.
On the other hand, a plurality of primary color images can be formed on the electro-developing recording medium through a dichroic optical member, and the color images can be read out through a single line sensor by scanning the line sensor along the electro-developing recording medium. In such a construction, however, a large storage memory must be provided for temporarily storing each of the color images. As a result, the time for the scanning operation takes too long.
In the device having the large storage memory, in a state in which the image developed by the electro-developing recording medium is not read out therefrom, the large storage memory is not used. Namely, the working ratio of the large storage memory is not high.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image signal reading operation control device by which the image developed on the electro-developing recording medium is exactly read out and the complexity of the correction process is reduced, even if the light distribution of a light source is not uniform.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image signal recording operation control device comprising an electro-developing recording medium, a light source, a sensor and displacing means.
The electro-developing recording medium electronically develops an image formed thereon. The light source illuminates the electro-developing recording medium. The sensor reads the image illuminated by the light source. The sensor generates pixel signals aligned in a longitudinal direction thereof, in accordance with the image read by the sensor. The displacing means displaces the light source along the longitudinal direction while the sensor reads the image.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image signal reading operation control device by which the time for reading the image from the electro-developing recording medium is shortened.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image signal recording operation control device comprising an electro-developing recording medium, a line sensor, moving means, reading means and control means.
The electro-developing recording medium electronically develops an image formed thereon. The line sensor senses the image developed on the electro-developing recording medium. The line sensor generates pixel signals aligned in a longitudinal direction thereof, in accordance with the image sensed by the line sensor. The moving means moves the line sensor in a scanning direction different from the longitudinal direction, from a first position to a second position. The reading means reads out the pixel signals from the line sensor when the line sensor reaches the second position. The control means controls a moving speed at which the line sensor is moved by the moving means. The controlling means changes the moving speed while the line sensor is moved from the first position to the second position.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an image signal reading operation control device which is miniturized.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image signal reading operation control device comprising an electro-developing recording medium, a light source, a mirror, a line sensor and a scanning mechanism.
The electro-developing recording medium electronically develops an image formed thereon. The light source illuminates the electro-developing recording medium. The mirror is disposed in front of the electro-developing recording medium so that light outputted by the light source is led to the electro-developing recording medium. The line sensor is disposed opposed to the mirror with respect to the electro-developing recording medium. The line sensor senses the light passing through the electro-developing recording medium. The scanning mechanism moves the mirror and the line sensor in a scanning direction different from a longitudinal direction of the line sensor.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an image signal reading operation control device by which a color image can be read out from the electro-developing recording medium and can be stored in an image data recording medium, without providing a large storage memory, and further wherein the processing time is short.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image signal reading operation control device comprising an electro-developing recording medium, forming means, a plurality of line sensors, reading means and storing means.
The electro-developing recording medium electronically develops an image formed thereon, and hag a plurality of recording areas. The forming means forms a color image on each of the recording areas. The line sensors move along the electro-developing recording medium, so that each of the line sensors reads the color image. Each of the line sensors generates pixel signals corresponding to the color image. The reading means reads out the pixel signals from the line sensors. The storing means stores the pixel signals in an image data recording medium.
An other object of the present invention is to provide an image signal reading operation control device by which a color image can be read out from the electro-developing recording medium and can be stored in an image data recording medium, without providing a large storage memory.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image signal reading operation control device comprising an electro-developing recording medium, forming means, a single line sensor, a memory and recording means.
The electro-developing recording medium electronically develops an image formed thereon, and has first and second recording areas. The forming means forms first and second color images on the first and second recording areas, respectively. The single line sensor is moved along the electro-developing recording medium, so that the line sensor reads the first and second color images. The line sensor generates first and second pixel signals corresponding to the first and second color images, respectively. The memory is provided for storing the first pixel signals. The recording means records the first and second pixel signals in an image data recording medium. The recording means reads the first pixel signals From the memory to store the first pixel signals in the image data recording medium, and reads the second pixel signals from the line sensor to store the second pixel signals in the image data recording medium.
A still further object o the present invention is to provide an image signal reading operation control device by which the working ratio of the large storage memory is improved.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image signal reading operation control device comprising an electro-developing recording medium, a line sensor, moving means, a mass memory and control means.
The electro-developing recording medium electronically develops an image formed thereon. The line sensor senses the image developed on the electro-developing recording tedium. The moving means moves the line sensor along the electro-developing recording medium. The mass memory stores an image signal corresponding to the image, and can be used as an external memory of a computer. The control means controls a storing operation, in which a signal is stored in the mass memory, in accordance with a command signal inputted from the computer.